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The wait is what's killing her, if nothing else.
Annabeth Chase has spent most of the night alternating between pacing her cabin and researching on Daedalus's laptop at randoms. She's restless, more then she usually is, totally unable to sit still for more then a few seconds. The anxiety at having to face Athena's greatest enemy threatens to overwhelm her. It claws at her insides, and gods, she's actually shaking, she realizes.
She's tried sleeping a few times, because she absolutely needs rest, but dark caves, vicious monsters, and Arachne's sadistic smile punctuate her dreams. And the ominous words asking if she will "fall alone" are definitely not helping. She has no idea what they mean, but it's unsettling all the same.
So, no sleep for her. She knows she'll be exhausted tomorrow, but she doesn't think she can stand any more nightmares.
When she hears a soft knock at the door, it's a welcome distraction from her pacing, and she isn't surprised to see that it's Percy, looking just as tired as she feels. His shirt, which she had brought for him new from camp, is already tattered and torn. She guesses that's fair though, as they've spent many hours and days fighting the various monsters that live to torment them. His hair is a mess, more so than it usually is, and he's so pale aside from the dark circles under his eyes brought on by lack of sleep. She knows she doesn't look much better, though, so she doesn't bring it up. Instead she reaches up and gives him a soft kiss on the lips.
"Hey," he says softly. "I figured you were still up. Can I come in?" A wry smile makes its way onto Annabeth's face, and she nods.
"I could use some company," she replies, taking his hand and pulling him into her room. Percy's eyes survey her space, and he grins sympathetically.
"Couldn't sleep?"
Annabeth shakes her head in response, dropping her boyfriend's hand and sitting onto her bed.
"Nope," she says. "I tried, but the nightmares got to be too much." She glances at the clock on the wall and grimaces. It's past three in the morning now. "I'm guessing you're not getting much rest either?" Percy follows her gaze and lets out a bitter-sounding laugh.
"Just the complementary demigod nightmares." He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "But hey, such is the life of a demigod," he says, and he sits down on her desk.
"It's quite the existence," Annabeth mutters back, opening the laptop by her bed for something to do. She scrolls at random through Daedalus's old designs, only briefly registering the complex architecture and inventions he created. She'll need to send some of them to Chiron, because there are a plethora of defense mechanisms that would be very useful indeed if she were to fail getting the statue.
Her throat constricts and the thought of possible failure, and she tries to keep her breathing even while Percy breaks the short lull in the conversation.
"Are you ready?" He asks hesitantly. Annabeth's heart leaps upward and starts racing again. She really isn't. She doesn't know if anyone could be ready for a quest like this, honestly. She has to complete it, of course. The world depends on it (no pressure there), but if it were her decision, she'd run the other direction as fast as humanly possible.
"As I'll ever be." She says once she finds her voice, and then stands again, resuming her pacing. "I just– I know how to find the Parthenos. I just follow the mark through the city." she swallows. "It's what happens when I get there that's the problem." She shudders at the thought of Arachne's figure, her dark stringy hair, her pitch black eyes. The sharp singer used to paralyze her victims. The mental image sends shocks of fear down her spine and she meets Percy's gaze again. A mistake, she knows, because no doubt her terror is etched all over her face. Percy stares at her for a while, his green eyes unusually shrewd as he takes in her words. Then he inhales sharply as he says,
"You know what's down there, don't you?"
Annabeth swallows hard. "Yeah," She says, trying to steady her hands by folding her arms. It doesn't work.
Percy knits his eyebrows together, lips turning twisting into a frown. "What is it?" He asks.
Annabeth hesitates for a split second before she answers. "It's not a what."
Percy blinks at her for a few seconds, and Annabeth can practically see the gears turning in his head. Then the color drains from his face.
"Annabeth," he says softly, "who's waiting for you down there?" And even though dread is boiling inside of her, threatening to overflow, she replies.
"I'm not saying the name. I don't want to attract her attention any more than I already have. But… think about Athena's kid's biggest fear, and then magnify it by about a thousand." Her voice is small, slightly delirious, she notes, and Percy's expression of worried confusion morphs into one of horror as he understands exactly what she means.
"You don't mean- not-" he stammers, and Annabeth grimaces.
"Yeah. Her."
"Annabeth," he breathes, and in two strides crosses to her, gathering her in his arms. She squeezes her eyes shut as she embraces him just as tightly, and she tries to control her emotions, mostly her fear that's running dangerously high.
"I know," She says, trying and failing to keep her voice steady. She breathes him in, and pulls back a little, looking into her boyfriend's eyes.
"Let me come with you," he says.
The words catch her off guard, even though they shouldn't. Percy is nothing if not loyal, and she should know just how much he's willing to risk for her. But as much as she wants him at her side, he can't go with her this time. It's a solo quest.
It always has been.
Unfortunately.
"You can't," Annabeth replies, and it feels like she has to rip the words out of her throat. Percy steps back from her at once in surprise.
"Why?" He asks, looking both confused and a little hurt.
"You just– you just can't Percy," she croaks. "Not this time."
Percy frowns at her, crossing his arms. "Again, why?"
"This is a quest I have to do by myself. Remember the prophecy?" She clears her throat and mimics Percy's stance, folding her arms across her chest. "Wisdom's daughter walks alone," she quotes, and Percy's expression hardens.
"Since when do we follow prophecies to the exact word?" He asks, and Annabeth frowns at him, too, feeling a little defensive. Sure, it's dangerous, and she'd much rather have him with her, but she can do it by herself if she needs to, which she has to do. Does he not think she can?
"It's not good to try and thwart prophecies, Percy," she says flatly. "We've seen what happens when we do. This is my quest."
"Prophecies have multiple meanings, Annabeth," Percy says, "you know that! Maybe that line means something else!"
"And what else do you think it could mean Percy?" Annabeth asks, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
"I don't know!" Percy throws his hands in the air, seemingly bemused at Annabeth's insistence of this solitary quest. "You're the smart one!" Annabeth takes a step back from him and glowers in his direction.
"You're perfectly capable of coming to your own conclusions," she replies. "There's no other meaning, Percy. I have to do this one by myself."
Percy grinds his teeth in frustration. "I can help you!" He cries. "I can be your backup or– I don't know!
"You just can't follow me this time!" she says. "I know you hate it," and so do I, she thinks, "but you just can't."
"Annabeth–"
"Not even for moral support," she interrupts, "Or backup. Or protection. She'll want me alive for as long as possible. She won't kill immediately. But she won't hesitate to take you out in a second!" Percy scowls.
"How can you possibly–"
"Because that's what she does," Annabeth says angrily. "She'll use you somehow to unravel me and then– Percy I wouldn't have the strength to defeat her if I had to see you die!" Percy's face softens, but only slightly.
"I'm just worried, okay?" He says, exasperatedly. "She's ancient, Annabeth, more ancient than almost anything we've ever faced." Annabeth blinks. Did he actually say that?
"You fought Ares, Percy," Annabeth says incredulously, "when you were twelve. That's about as ancient as you can get!"
"Exactly," Percy exclaims. "I was twelve! I had no chance of ever winning that fight, and we both know it. He wasn't taking me seriously! If he'd actually wanted me dead then I wouldn't be here! This is completely different!"
"How is it different?" Annabeth shoots back. "Explain that leap of logic for me, will you?"
"It just is!' Percy says with a scowl. "She actually wants to kill you! And don't deny that," he says sharply, because Annabeth had opened her mouth to interrupt. "You said it yourself– She won't hesitate!"
"To kill you! She won't hesitate to kill you! She'll keep me alive long enough to try and get into my head, so I'll have time to work something out."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Percy asks disbelievingly. "Am I supposed to just let my girlfriend walk by herself with no backup into the nest of a crazy spider woman and let her mind be messed with?" Annabeth's eyes narrow.
"Oh," she says. "So that's the reason then. You don't think I can do it on my own? Do you think she's too out of my league?" Percy's mouth forms into a thin line. His sea green eyes are stormy, like the rough waves battering a cliff side, or high crested water swirling in a hurricane. She's touched a nerve, Annabeth realizes, but she doesn't back down.
"No," Percy says in a low voice. "No, don't you ever say that. If anyone is clever enough to defeat that monster, it's you, but–"
"So why do you care so much?" Annabeth interrupts. "If you know I can do it– and I can do it– then why are you so insistent? I can take care of myself, I have been for years. I don't need you to protect –"
"Gods, Annabeth," Percy interjects, and his voice is almost a shout as he continues, "Why do you think? Because, on the horrible off chance you–" his voice breaks and he has to clear his throat, seemingly unable to finish the thought. "I don't want you to have to be alone down there! And because I love you."
And then her world kind of just... stops for a second.
On some level, even before she and Percy were together, Annabeth knew that Percy loved her. They'd spent enough time together for her to know that much. He'd joined a quest he wasn't even supposed to be on simply because she was in danger. He'd let himself get blown up in a volcano so Annabeth could have a chance to escape. She'd been the only person that he had remembered when Hera had taken his memories.
So yes, the fact that Percy loves her isn't a surprise, but he's never said it aloud before, and it's effectively taken the wind out of her sails.
It's like they're the only two people in the world right now. The air is charged with electricity, and they're nearly nose to nose, faces still flushed– though much less furious. It’s been a long time since she has seen her boyfriend this angry at her, and she at him. And as she looks into his sea green eyes, it occurs to her that this is the first real fight the two of them have had since before Manhattan.
What had she called him then? A coward? Her face burns at the memory, for her words then and now, at her own cowardice and unwillingness to accept any type of help.
His hand is on her arm, Annabeth realizes, and she swallows hard.
"Percy," she says in a quiet voice. "Percy, I–" But Percy interrupts her, closing the distance between them and pressing his forehead to hers as he says,
"I do, Annabeth. I love you. And I don't want to– I can't lose you again, not after I've just found you."
"I'll come back," she says just as quietly, "You know I will." Percy pulls back just enough to look at her searchingly, taking her in as if it's the first time he's seeing her.
"I know you can," he says softly, "but that doesn't mean I can't worry."
Annabeth's mouth twists into an exasperated smile. "I think you're a little too worried," she says, relieved the tension is dissipating.
"The last time one of us wandered around an underground tunnel," he chuckles,"I got blown up into the sky and ended up on a magical island. So I think I have a right to be concerned." Annabeth scoffs lightly, though she's smiling a little.
"I'm going to be fine," she says, and that's all she has time to say before he kisses her. She kisses him back just as intensely, her hands finding their way to his hair, tangling in his black curls. He pulls her closer to him, hands brushing the parts of her skin that her tank top doesn't cover. It warms her to her bones, chasing away the cold fear that's been dousing her for days. It feels like days have passed when they finally break apart, and Annabeth keeps her eyes closed, her forehead resting against Percy's.
"I'll follow you. Anywhere."
Percy's words are barely a murmur into Annabeth's lips, and they make her throat catch. She squeezes her eyes tighter, willing herself not to cry. Because she knows it. He would follow her to the end of the earth if she were to ask him.
"I know," She says, failing to keep her tone even. "I know."
"So let me," Percy says in a pleading voice. "I don't care if it's dangerous, Annabeth. Please. I don't want you to have to face it alone."
"I have to," Annabeth whispers. " You know I have to." They pull away from each other a little more, enough for Annabeth to lock eyes with her boyfriend. His sea green eyes are full of emotions. There's no anger there any more, only sadness and… resignation. She's won.
(She hates it.)
—
The only thing that's keeping Annabeth from plummeting into hell right at this second is Percy. Her best friend. Boyfriend. He's everything to her, really.
He'll die because of her, if he doesn't let her go now. She feels the pull of Tartarus, dark and twisted and all consuming, and gods, she's so tired.
"Let me go," she tells him, because anything, anything is better than hanging here, in blinding pain, waiting for the inevitable plunge into darkness. It would be a relief to end it. And she can't stand the thought of him being in so much danger because of her. Save yourself, she tries to tell him with her eyes. They need you. More than she needs him.
"I'll be okay," she croaks.
But Percy holds her gaze and shakes his head almost imperceptibly. He looks exhausted, but his eyes are full of determination as he grips her tighter.
I'll follow you anywhere, He had said last night, and now he promises her, "we're staying together," and tears are falling down her face, and she's in so much pain. She just wants it to stop.
Will you fall alone?
She knows she won't now.
He'll follow her. Into total and complete darkness. They probably won't survive. They're going to hit the bottom and that will be their end.
This is really it.
But at least she's with Percy. At least she's – at least they're not alone.
"As long as we're together," she says, because that's the one glimmer of hope she has left.
They hold each other as the darkness envelops them.